Party Foul ('Party Crasher' divergence)
by Miraculous-Content
Summary: In another universe, Wayhem had stormed in as Party Crasher soon after Marinette's disguise had been revealed. She had no time to process her feelings, focused solely on getting away to transform. In this universe, there's nothing standing between Marinette and feeling how she feels, especially not as Luka follows after her to offer comfort. (contains some Nino salt)


Marinette fell forward, unable to keep her balance as she hit the ground. She choked, the landing briefly taking her breath away.

Abruptly, the music stopped.

"Marinette?!" Adrien's voice echoed throughout the room.

Marinette, shocked to hear her name called, glanced forward. She noticed her disguise laying a couple feet away, leaving her completely exposed as a girl.

"A-ah—" Hands shaking, she grabbed the glasses off the floor. "N-no, I'm—"

Nino pushed his way through the crowd. "What are you doing here?" he asked, looking both confused and upset. "You're supposed to be with the other girls!"

Marinette frowned, hunching over at the fact that she was still being stared at. "Yeah, but you guys lied, so I wanted to know what was up."

"And we didn't answer your calls!" Nino reminded her. "Wasn't that enough of a hint?"

"A-a hint?" She blinked, not understanding. Standing up, she asked, "But… why? I don't get it. I'm here, so—"

Nino facepalmed, then gestured around himself. "It's a _boys_ afternoon, Marinette!"

"Wha—what does _gender_ have to do with this?" she asked. "Isn't this a party for Adrien?"

Adrien stepped forward, trying to intervene. "Nino—"

Nino ignored him, pointing an accusing finger at Marinette. "Yeah, it's a party for my _best bud,_ because he needed a _break,_ and _you_ had to _sneak in here_ and _ruin it!_ Do you know how hard it was to get us all in here and set this up?"

Marinette flinched, having never seen Nino frustrated like this. While, yes, it was true that she snuck in, the party certainly wasn't a private one. There were guys—some of them _adults_—everywhere.

So why was she such a problem, just because she was a girl? Why did everyone have to keep staring at her like this? Why did she have to stick out so much…?

All of a sudden, Nino's anger shifted into shock. The crowd's eyes widened, and they were now looking at her strangely.

Nino's hands went up in defense as he stared at Marinette. "W-whoa, geez, Marinette, it's not _that_ big of a deal."

Marinette blinked, at first not understanding what was happening, but then she felt tears rolling down her cheeks.

Oh. Oh no. She was crying in front of everyone, even Adrien.

She went stiff, debating on whether she should hide her face or try to pretend like she was having a reaction to something in the air.

"_Nino,_" Adrien stressed in a hushed whisper, looking around nervously at the crowd. Some were trying to leave the room as steathfully as possible due to the thick atmosphere, but others were looking upon Nino disapprovingly.

Nino tried to save himself. Addressing Marinette, he excused, "L-look, it's just a party. You were hanging out with the girls, so—"

Marinette spoke up before she could stop herself. "—Because you _left us._"

Nino cringed.

She'd already started talking, so she continued, "You _lied_ to all of us so you guys could go see Adrien. You left us _planting trees_ while you went off to have fun here!"

Nino went on the defensive. "W-well, yeah, because Adrien's my friend and—"

"—and so are the girls!" Marinette pointed out. "Don't you think we all would've liked to be here for Adrien too?! And you—you—"

She was shaking, feeling as though there were a million emotions swirling in her chest.

"You _know_ how hard I've tried to spend time with Adrien! His schedule is so packed that it's almost impossible! I would've helped you if you'd just told the truth! I'm his friend too!"

Or… at least, she thought she was. That's what Adrien had always said, wasn't it?

That she was a friend. _Just_ a friend. Such a _good_ friend.

…She really _was_ stupid, wasn't she? What was she even _doing_ here?

Nino was stunned silent, only able to stare awkwardly at her, arms partly raised and clearly not knowing what to do with themselves.

Marinette sniffled. Turning away from him, she wiped her face with the back of her hand and headed for the door.

"P-please excuse me," she said to the crowd as politely as she could. Her voice wasn't nearly as strong as she'd intended.

Nevertheless, the crowd dispersed and separated as she passed, as if she were on fire and they were afraid of getting caught in the flames.

As she left Adrien's room, Marinette rushed down the stairs and ran straight for the dining hall, throwing off the rest of her disguise along the way. She tried shutting the door behind her as quietly as she could, then slumped to the floor. Hugging her knees to her chest, she lowered her head and let out a single sob.

"M-marinette," Tikki whispered softly, poking her head out of the purse. "It's okay, it…" She trailed off, not knowing what advice she could offer.

Marinette let out an unsteady breath. She was a fool, and she was certain that she looked like one in front of Adrien just then.

How was it fair that all her attempts at getting time with Adrien ended in failure? Why did things keep going wrong even when she had a plan? Heck, she couldn't even maintain her disguise for, what, ten minutes?

And it wasn't just the universe anymore either. Now, people—her _friends_—were lying to her and keeping her away from the thing she tried so hard to achieve.

It wasn't like she felt that she had a right to Adrien. She knew she didn't, but why the lie? Why couldn't she have been involved even a _little_ in this get-together?

Why did it always have to be this way? Why did the thought of Adrien have to be soured by more and more memories of screw-ups and mistakes? Why…

"Marinette…?"

Marinette stiffened at the voice. Slowly, she glanced over to the door, though trying to keep her face hidden so as to not expose her crying face to the world once again.

Luka was standing in the doorway, keeping the door open just enough to let himself in while still preserving some of Marinette's privacy.

"…I didn't know," he began, glancing over at where Adrien's room would be if they could see it. "About the party, I mean. About you and what happened. I was just—"

"No. I-it's okay. I don't know everything, but I know that Nino was the big planner here."

She lowered her head back down, and the silence between them stretched on for an eerily long time. The only noises were the sound of footsteps as people slowly poured out of the mansion, along with the occasional opening and shutting of the door.

Luka didn't make a sound himself, but Marinette could sense that he was still there. Despite the lack of a conversation, part of her felt eased just by him being around.

Finally, he spoke up, "Do you mind if I sit next to you? You don't have to say anything if you don't want to, but—"

"Please sit," Marinette replied, softly and encouragingly.

_Don't leave,_ she thought. _Don't leave me here. You're the only one who's never left._

The door shut, but the warmth Marinette felt next to her reassured her that Luka was still there, and also very close.

"My guitar might be too loud, but… do you need anything?" he asked quietly.

Marinette shook her head. Now that the whole event from earlier seemed to be dying down, she could feel her nerves trying to relax.

She took a deep breath. "I'm so tired."

Luka said nothing, possibly because he knew what she meant.

She continued regardless, "I'm tired of always trying; of being the _only one_ who has to try. I feel like fate keeps slapping me and I just never get the message."

She could feel Luka's eyes on her, which admittedly made her a little apprehensive. After Lila, she'd mostly lost her ability to predict how people would react. It seemed like she could never be sure of anyone anymore, and whether they were on her side or not.

"…Marinette…"

Marinette peeked up again, noting Luka's hand hovering right above her shoulder.

He offered her a smile and she gave him a nod in return.

His hand met her shoulder. Almost unconsciously, she leaned into it, which prompted Luka to slide his hand down her back and rub along it in slow, steady circles.

Marinette breathed out, letting out a soft noise of enjoyment. "T-thank you."

"You deserve it."

Her immediate reaction was to thank him before she realized that she'd already done so. The only alternative then was blushing, which is exactly what she did.

She wiped her eyes, this time with the knowledge that the tears had at least stopped. She hoped that she didn't look _too_ bad.

She finally met Luka's gaze, though with her hair almost falling into her vision. "What would you do?"

"Hm?" He seemed confused.

"Well…" She paused, trying to figure out how to explain it to him. "What do you do… when you're writing a song, and it doesn't seem like it'll ever come together?"

Luka's brows raised. Marinette suspected that he knew what she was asking.

"Ah—" For once, his usual chill self seemed distant. He looked away, and just before his head had turned completely, Marinette thought she saw a blush on his face.

Of course, Marinette remembered all the loving things he'd said to her. She remembered the gentle glow of the stage lights, and how warm she'd felt as he'd walked away like he hadn't just said the sweetest thing she'd ever heard. She remembered the pounding of her heart and how, for just a moment, her life felt organized and calm.

It'd be natural then, if Luka felt as though he couldn't say anything on the matter. Now she was sure that he knew what she was asking him to say, and he knew of his bias in the matter.

With a steady hand, she reached up and tugged gently on his sleeve.

She wanted him to tell her. She wanted to know how he felt. She wanted him to be biased and selfish and _take her away_ if he so desired.

Luka glanced back at her, their eyes meeting for a long moment. The mansion was completely quiet now, though perhaps it was just the two of them being too lost in each other to notice anything else.

"I…" Luka paused. "I give up on a song if it doesn't feel right. It might've started with a good tune, but if I can't finish it, then I figure I need to start a new song."

Marinette smiled softly. She felt warm and fuzzy inside. "Yeah…"

She lowered her hands to the floor, then dared to slide closer to him, adding, "I think so too."

Luka, though looking surprised at first, smiled back at her. He wrapped his arm around her, pulling her in slowly so she could decide how close she wanted to be just by the slightest resistance.

Truthfully, she wanted to be as close as possible.

She gripped his jacket with a hand, burying her face into his chest. Her nerves were calmed, her body was warmed, and her heart was singing.

She felt a vibration as Luka chuckled.

"We could throw our own party," he suggested lightly.

She peered up at him. "What do you mean?"

He shrugged. "We could go somewhere… maybe just get some confetti poppers and have a good time."

She giggled in amusement. "Sounds fun." After a pause, she frowned, adding, "But, actually, I should probably get back to the girls. They're probably still taking care of the plants, and I feel bad for leaving them like I did."

"I'll come with you then," Luka insisted. "I can help out, and then we can have the fun time that you deserve."

"Are you sure?" she asked.

He nodded, very slowly shifting from his sitting position. Marinette moved away and stood up, feeling surprisingly light on her feet considering what had just happened in Adrien's room.

As Luka stood as well, he held his arm out again. Marinette went close, letting him pull her in as they both opened the door together to leave.

Once they'd opened the front door and let the sunlight shone down upon them, Marinette took the opportunity to look down at Tikki.

Tikki was smiling up at her, not quite cooing in delight but seeming like she wanted to.

Luka's grip on Marinette tightened just slightly, certainly not hurting her, but being enough for her to notice. She looked over to him, noting the sudden hard gaze on his face.

He must've felt her staring, as he almost immediately looked at her. Smiling sheepishly, he said, "Sorry. I was just thinking about what they did to you."

"It's okay," she assured. After all, if Luka was upset, it meant that he cared, and it made sense for him to think about such things after he'd made her feel better.

Luka chuckled, despite his mild embarrassment at being caught glaring at nothing. "Don't worry. I won't get akumatized again."

He paused, then glanced up at the sky. With a smile, he teased, "I mean, unless you want me to."

Marinette grinned. "Ooo, tempting offer. You could whisk me away and take me around the whole city."

She leaned further towards him, enjoying the way Luka practically hugged her against himself.

"I think I like this better though," she whispered.

She didn't have to look at Luka's face to know that he agreed.

As they passed the mansion's front gates, talking about both everything and nothing, Marinette was sure that she'd gotten the message from fate this time.

She'd never forget it.


End file.
